1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a managing system and a managing method of a processing system of a substrate, and a host computer and an information collecting/transmitting unit thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor device fabrication is carried out in a coating and developing system, an aligner, an etching unit, and so on which are installed in a factory. For example, on the coating and developing system, a plurality of units such as a resist coating unit, a developing unit, and a heating unit are mounted, where a series of photolithography processes in the semiconductor device fabrication are carried out.
When a trouble occurs in the coating and developing system in operation, a person in charge of process or the like who is a manager on a factory side handles the trouble, and when the person in charge of process cannot handle the trouble, the person in charge of process or the like gets in contact with an engineer who is a manager on a vendor side which is a manufacturer of the coating and developing system by means of telephone and so on, and the engineer handles the trouble. When the trouble can be solved only by giving instructions through telephone and so on, the engineer on the vendor side handles the trouble in a vendor""s office, but he/she usually visits the factory to handle the trouble since it is necessary for him/her to grasp the situation in more detail and to take an appropriate measure.
However, since sales areas of coating and developing systems covers a wide range including foreign countries and so on due to today""s globalization of the market, it sometimes takes a lot of time for the engineer on the vendor side to reach the factory. Meanwhile, in the case when the trouble is handled only by communication through telephone, facsimile, and the like, an appropriate measure cannot be taken since there is a limit in obtaining information on the condition, the cause, and so on of the failure, and as a result, it also sometime takes a lot of time until the coating and developing system is recovered. Moreover, when failures occur in a plurality of places at the same time, a plurality of people are forced to handle them, which sometimes causes different quality of the measures since an inexperienced, unskilled engineer is also included among them.
Meanwhile, a substrate processed in the aforesaid coating and developing system is carried to an examining unit, where the substrate processing condition is examined. When it is found from the result of the examination that the substrate is not appropriately processed, it is necessary to specify its cause and correct and improve a processing unit or the like which has caused this condition.
However, the manager on the factory side who conducts the examination of the substrate does not usually have a good knowledge of such a coating and developing system. Therefore, even when a poor condition is recognized in the substrate processing condition, its cause cannot be found only by the manager on the factory side and this task is often entrusted to the person in charge on the vendor side which is the manufacturer of the processing system. The person in charge entrusted with this task gives an instruction through telephone and so on in the office of the vendor side or he/she goes to the factory side to handle the poor condition himself/herself.
However, in the case when the person in charge on the vendor side gives the instruction while staying in the office, detailed information on the processing condition of the substrate in which the poor condition is recognized in the examination cannot be obtained only through telephone and so on. Because of this, the person in charge on the vendor side cannot select a proper countermeasure and give the instruction to the manager on the factory side. Therefore, there is a concern that the manager on the factory side cannot take an appropriate measure for the examination result. Meanwhile, in the case when the person in charge on the vendor side visits the factory side, since the factory and the office of the vendor are usually distant from each other, it takes time for him/her to reach the factory and quick measures cannot be taken. Furthermore, in the case when the poor conditions occur in a plurality of places at the same time and persons in charge on the vendor side are sent to the plural places at the same time, the qualities of the correction and improvement work are not sometimes equal since the persons in charge who do not have the same level of experience are sent. Therefore, there is a concern that an appropriate measure according to the examination result cannot be taken and a lot of time is required for the correction and improvement of the processing condition, depending upon which person in charge is sent.
The present invention is made from the above viewpoint and it is an object of the present invention to enable the acquisition of sufficient information even from a distant place and quick and appropriate management of a processing system such as a coating and developing system based on this information. It is a second object of the present invention to enable a quick and appropriate measure to be taken for an examination result of a substrate.
The present invention has an information accumulation section for accumulating information on the aforesaid processing system, an information collecting unit for collecting the information from the information accumulation section, and a managing unit for obtaining the information in the information collecting unit via the Internet or an intranet to manage the processing system based on this information.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention is a managing method of managing a processing system of a substrate, in which an information collecting unit collects information on the processing system which is accumulated in an information accumulation section of the processing system according to an instruction of a managing unit, and the managing unit obtains the information via the Internet or an intranet to manage the processing system based on the information.
By thus providing the information accumulation section for accumulating the information on the processing system of the substrate, the information collecting unit for collecting the information in the information accumulation section, and the managing unit which is connected to the information collecting unit via the Internet or the intranet, it is made possible, for example, for a manager on a managing unit side in a distant place to obtain necessary and sufficient information for managing the processing system via the Internet or the like. This enables the manager on the managing unit side to appropriately manage the processing system based on the obtained information while staying on the managing unit side. Therefore, he/she does not have to visit a factory side where the processing system is installed each time so that, for example, a trouble and so on of the processing system can also be handled quickly. Moreover, since in many cases, an experienced manager on the managing unit side can handle the trouble, a more appropriate measure can be taken.
Incidentally, the aforesaid information also includes information indicating the operation status of the processing system itself, information indicating the operation status of each of units in the processing system, measurement information and drive information in the units, their history information, maintenance information on parts and so on used in the processing system and each of the units, examination information on the processed substrate, and so on. The aforesaid management also includes maintenance of the processing system.
The aforesaid information accumulation section may be provided in the processing system. Furthermore, the processing system may have a plurality of processing units and the information on each of the units may be accumulated in the information accumulation section. The information on each of the units of the processing system is thus accumulated in the information accumulation section so that the information on each of the processing units can easily be obtained in the managing unit side and appropriate management is made possible by obtaining information on a specific processing unit when necessary. Incidentally, the information on each of the units includes, for example, information indicating the operation status of the units, measurement information and drive information in the units, their history information, maintenance information on parts and so on used in the units, examination information on the processed substrate, and so on.
Further, as management information which is dealt in the present invention, information on, for example, change and adjustment of setting, a cleaning command, part exchange, and software exchange of the processing system; and information a change and adjustment of setting, a cleaning command, part exchange, and so on of the units of the processing system can be listed.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the present invention is a managing system for managing a processing system of a substrate, in which an examining unit for examining the substrate processed in the processing system is provided on a factory side where the processing system is installed, and a host computer for obtaining through the Internet examination information on the substrate which is examined in the examining unit is provided on a side of a vendor of the processing system.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the present invention is a host computer constituting a managing system for managing a processing system of a substrate in a factory and provided on a side of a vendor of the processing system, comprising a communication unit for obtaining via the Internet examination information on the substrate processed in the processing system.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the present invention is an information collecting/transmitting unit constituting a managing system for managing a processing system of a substrate in a factory and provided in a factory side, comprising a communication unit for collecting examination information on the substrate processed in each of a plurality of processing systems and transmitting the examination information to a host computer on a vendor side via the Internet.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the present invention is a managing method of managing a processing system of a substrate, in which adopted are: an examining unit for examining the substrate processed in the processing system in a factory; an information collecting/transmitting unit which is able to collect examination information on the substrate examined in the examining unit and transmit the examination information via the Internet; and a receiving means provided on a vendor side, for receiving the examination information, and in which the examination information on the substrate examined in the examining unit is collected by the information collecting/transmitting unit and thereafter transmitted to the receiving means on the vendor side via the Internet, and the processing system is managed based on the examination information received by a manager on the vendor side.
According to the present invention, the host computer on the vendor side obtains the examination information on the substrate on the factory side via the Internet so that the manager on the vendor side can obtain the examination information in more detail. This enables the manager on the vendor side to be informed of the processing condition of the substrate while staying on the vendor side. Therefore, in the case, for example, when a poor condition of the substrate processing is detected from the examination information or in other cases like this, the manager on the vendor side can present an appropriate measure to the manager on the factory side based on the detailed examination information so that the poor condition can be solved appropriately and quickly. Therefore, the examination result of the substrate can be handled appropriately and quickly. Furthermore, even when poor conditions occur in a plurality of places, an experienced manager on the vendor side can obtain the detailed examination information while staying on the vendor side to give instructions to the plural factories so that the measures of the same quality can be taken in all the factories.
Further, according to the present invention, the manager on the vendor side is informed of the more detailed examination information. Therefore, in the case, for example, when the poor condition occurs in the processing system and in other cases like this, the manager on the vendor side can select a more appropriate countermeasure based on the examination information and present it to the manager on the factory side. Consequently, a more appropriate and quicker measure can be taken based on the obtained examination information.
Moreover, according to the present invention, even when the plural processing systems are provided in the factory, the information collecting/transmitting unit can collect the examination information on each of the processing systems in a centralized manner and send it to the host computer on the vendor side. This eliminates the necessity of providing an information collecting/transmitting means in each of the processing systems so that the entire configuration of the managing system can be simplified.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, the manager on the vendor side can obtain the more detailed examination information using the Internet so that, in the case, for example, when the processing system has the poor condition and in other cases like this, the manager on the vendor side can present a more appropriate countermeasure and so on to the manager on the factory side based on the examination information and the poor condition can be appropriately and quickly solved. Therefore, an appropriate and quick measure can be taken for the examination result of the substrate. Incidentally, the management of the processing system means to maintain, for example, the condition of the substrate processing carried out in the processing system at a predetermined standard or higher, and the management in the present invention includes not only a direct management by the manager on the vendor side in which the manager on the vendor side himself/herself operates the processing system but also an indirect management by giving an instruction to another person or by using other means.